Tuesday, March 08, 2016

Should Christians Believe In Conspiracy Theories?



March 8, 2016

by: Jack Wellman


Should Christians believe in conspiracy theories? If so, should they be worried?
What? Me Worry?

Have you known people who are so unconcerned with what happens in life that they could say about anything, “What? Me worry?” Then there are those who are overly concerned about, it seems, everything. There’s a skeleton in every closet, a demon in every corner, and a motive behind every action. Certainly there are a lot of things that are happening in the world that we should be worried about. Many believe that the Twin Towers destruction was brought down by our own people and not really the extremist Muslims. There a lot of people who still believe the many JFK conspiracies like J. Edgar Hoover conspired to kill him, so what is a conspiracy in the first place? Should we be worried about them? Conspiracy theories are just that; theories. I would describe them as a secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful before anyone can do anything to stop it. If you look around today, there is no shortage of conspiracy theorists. There are undoubtedly conspiracies going on right now that the general public is unaware of. There are most certainly groups that are plotting and planning something as I write this, but should Christians be concerned about it? What can we do about it?

The First Illuminati

If someone mentions the Illuminati conspiracy theories, then you hear a lot of different views on it. There are so many varieties of proposed theories that they cannot all be right as some even contradict one another. Wikipedia describes The Illuminati “a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the “Bavarian Illuminati” founded by Adam Weishaupt on May 1st, 1776. The “Illuminati” can refer to hundreds of different organizations which all or most claim to have links to the original Bavarian Illuminati but at least they claim to belong to a similar secret society. Weishaupt was disillusioned with the cost of joining the Freemasonry so he decided to create his own secret society. Even the name “Illuminati” suggests that they have a special “illumination” because it means “enlightened” or “illuminated” about things that others don’t and they are not willing to make this publically known.



Sovereignty versus Conspiracies

Accepting the fact that these societies do exist, how do we respond to it? Trevor McKeown believes “there is no evidence that these present-day groups have amassed significant political power or influence, and rather than trying to remain secret, they promote unsubstantiated links to the Bavarian Illuminati as a means of attracting membership.” [1] For the believer, we don’t have to wring our hands about the future because even “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will”(Prov 21:1) and evil or good, “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps” (Prov 16:9) because “The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples” (Psalm 33:10).
God’s Word to the Conspiracists

If you belong to some secret society, Illuminati or not, you have to do something in public: Profess with your mouth your faith in Jesus Christ (Rom 10:9-13) but first you must repent and believe in the gospel of the kingdom of God that Jesus Himself brought (Mark 1:15). There are no secrets with God Who is omniscient. Jesus said “Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops” (Luke 12:3). Conspiracy theories notwithstanding, “nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light” (Luke 8:17). Are these conspiracies that are going on right now concerning you? Undoubtedly there are hundreds or thousands of conspiracies going on right now around the world but Jesus says“have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known” (Matt 10:26).


Conclusion

I hope you those of you who have repented and believed will have no fear about these things or the uncertainty of the future. God says through Solomon,“Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out” (Prov 10:9) and even though things are “covered with deception, his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly” (Prov 26:26) before God and all of His holy angels but also all who refuse to repent of their sins, humble themselves before God, and put their trust in Christ (Rev 20:12-15).


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